text:
You are not logged in.
Pages: 1
what is the differences between maya and 3d max? i am currently learning Maya and pretty curious about 3d max. However I want to make my career in animation so which is best. Please give some explain in details.
My vote goes for Maya. Maya is much powerful when compared with 3d Max.
How about Blender? Its FREE!!! http://www.blender.org/. Here is an example of what it can do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HomAZcKm3Jo.
Hi Gabe;
Yes, I have but have not tried it yet.
In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.
Neither is better than the other. Maya was created for very large scale projects and its cost reflects it. 3DS Max was made for large scale projects as well but not as large as Maya was intended for. Maya has a very steep learning curve for the beginner.
That blender movie is perfectly realistic with respect to motion and animals, people.
How was this ever created. How many people were on the project?
igloo myrtilles fourmis
Bless me Bobbym for I have sinned! It has been months since my last post and my email account died and I had to start a new account on MIF.
Anyway down to business.
Blender has a very good Lattice-Boltzman based fluidFX system which is considerably faster to use then the Navier-Stokes fluids in Maya.
Personally I've been using Maya for nearly 6yrs and use Max for access to Krakatoa. I don't think that Max is any less powerful
than Maya they are developed by the same company and share a lot of technologies.
Maya does on the other hand have something that Max does not and that is Mel and C++ API. These allow you do completely redesign
the way the program looks and to a certain extent operate so that it is bespoke to your requirements and it is for this reason alone why
people say it is more powerful. That was originally the reason why I started learning more maths, though I eventually found that the maths
was far more interesting and rewarding than learning how to code for an API. Unless its libCinder
Last edited by DaveRobinsonUK1 (2011-12-01 18:04:46)
I see it, but I don't believe it.
Hi DaveRobinsonUK1;
Nice, to see you back! I did wonder about the username and the avatar when I saw you register.
That was originally the reason why I started learning more maths
I originally started learning how to program because I did not want to do anymore mathematics. To my suprise I found out that you need math more than ever! Basic problem was not just the small amount of memory those machines had but the lack of speed. So, I came back to math with a vengeance, learned it like I was mad at it.
In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.
Hi Bobby
It's excellent to be back.
I completely agree with you in needing maths more than ever. Without it there is only a certain amount you can do
with a computer. Making database/business programs is boring and certainly not why I got into computing.
I see it, but I don't believe it.
Hi Dave;
Business programs, yecchhh!
I never could understand their fascination with the bubblesort, shellsort, quicksort, mergesort...
Even now, I have trouble with algorithmic complexity cause their only example is some sort. Soon as I hear it I fall asleep.
In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.
I am a professional animator with 7 years professional experience in the feature film, TV and video games industry have to say that both programs are fantastic and very powerful. I have used both extensively and am an expert in both programs.
As an animator, I find Maya's tools quicker for the animation workflow needed due to a more responsive f-curve/graph editor and great gimbal lock fixing tools. Rigging in Maya is light years beyond Max. You can do the same end job and get the same end product out of both applications, however for Animation and Rigging, Maya's open nature lets you do more complex tasks more easily. Max is kinda dumbed down and a bit limiting in comparison.
Typically Max is used more for games and Maya more for film. But this isn't always the case by any means. I got into the games industry by learning Max and then I quickly taught myself Maya's core anim tools in a month for a particular TV anim job. In short, once you know one program, you could switch fairly quickly between jobs. So just pick 1 of the two and go for it!
If you want to write tools rather than animate, then i'd definitely go with Maya. The reason Film and big studio's use Maya is because of its open nature. They use MEL Script, Python and the C++ API to pretty much overhaul the application to their studios needs. Max is a lot more closed in and although MAXScript is easy to learn and write, I personally find it quite limiting. Max is quicker to get something up and working, but Maya uses more hardcore style programming methods which lends itself to large complex systems that you would find in a Major studio.
I hope this helps!
Pages: 1


text:
Heat enough olive oil, to shallow fry the fish, in a large skillet over medium-high heat
In a shallow dish, whisk together 1/2 cup of the flour, beer, egg, and baking powder. Place remaining 1/4 cup flour in a separate shallow dish.
Season both sides of fish fillets with salt and black pepper. Dredge fish in flour, turn to coat both sides and then shake off excess flour. Dunk fish in beer mixture and turn to coat both sides.
Add fish to hot oil and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, until cooked through and opaque. Remove fish from oil. Place on a paper towel lined plate.
While the fish is frying, in a medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice and chili paste. Add mandarin oranges and cilantro and toss to combine. Serve sauce over fish.
Check Out Our
Get a sneak-peek of the new Food Network recipe page and give us your feedback.See it Now!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
Assemblyman John Ceretto, R-C-I-Lewiston, today passed legislation to protect children from abuse by increasing penalties for those who repeatedly assault them. The legislation requires that a sentence of assault in the first degree be handed down to a defendant who has previously been convicted of either assault of a child or attempted assault of a child. This ensures that people who repeatedly assault children cannot plead down to a lesser charge and are kept behind bars.
Ceretto noted the importance of this legislation in light of the tragedy involving North Tonawanda resident Jay Bolvin, who is living with the effects of being repeatedly abused.
"As the father of four children, the thought of a person who repeatedly assaults children pleading down their charge and getting out to abuse more children disgusts me," Ceretto said. "This critical legislation requiring a charge of assault in the first degree for repeat offenders will help keep these deranged individuals away from our children. As a parent and a legislator, I am proud to pass this important measure in honor of Jay Bolvin in the hopes that we can prevent future tragedies."
Bolvin was beaten as an infant by his father in 2011. His father was convicted of assault in the third degree in 2007, after breaking his other son's arm. After beating Jay, his father pled down to third degree assault and attempted second-degree assault, and was only sentenced to 1-1/3 to 4 years in prison. As a result of the beating, Bolvin suffered 11 broken bones and was left with epilepsy.
Ceretto's camp said this is unjust, and that the legislation is aimed to deliver justice for Jay and children like him.


text:
Disaster-Related Contracts
Notice of Participation in Cooperative Contract - WSCA Computer Contract M-0483
Please be advised that the State of NJ is a participant in the re-procurement of the cooperative contract for Computers with the Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA). The Request for Proposal (RFP)s includes computers, servers, related equipment and services and has been issued by the State of Minnesota. The RFP is currently posted on its website. For information regarding this RFP, please refer to the WSCA-NASPO website using the following procedure:
State of Minnesota #19512
Click on the "Goods and Services" link and then search for Reference Number 19512
Release Date: 16 September 2013
Closing Date & Time: 18 November 2013 at 3:00 pm (Central Time)


text:
90s seroconversion rates
Jan 22, 1998
There's been a lot of talk lately about gay men seroconverting at increasing rates in the 90s. But there don't seem to be many published studies documenting this. Do you know of any unpublished studies that do or don't confirm that gay men are seroconverting at higher rates?
If so, what kind of incidence rates are they reporting?
Response from Mr. Sowadsky
Hi. Thank you for your question. Anecdotally, there are reports of HIV once again increasing among Gay men, especially young Gay men. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of direct evidence thus far to verify this. This is because many places do not have HIV reporting (only AIDS reporting). Because the length of time from infection, to a diagnosis of AIDS is 10 years (on average), any risk factor statistics you will see for persons with AIDS, tells us how people became infected an average of 10 years before, not today. Until we have nationwide HIV reporting, data on the recent spread of HIV among any risk group (including Gay men) will be very limited. However, there is an increasing amount of indirect evidence that HIV is once again on the verge of infecting the Gay community at increasing rates. This is based on several studies.
One report that has raised significant concerns regarding HIV in Gay men, is a study that looked at rates of Gonorrhea infection among Gay men in several cities in the USA. Over the years, rates of Gonorrhea in the USA have been decreasing. Although overall Gonorrhea rates in the USA continue to decrease, a recent study has now shown that among Gay men specifically, rates of Gonorrhea are once again increasing. Like HIV, Gonorrhea is transmitted through unprotected anal intercourse and giving oral sex. The increase in Gonorrhea rates is strong evidence that Gay men are no longer practicing safer sex as much as they used to. Because Gonorrhea and HIV are transmitted in similar ways, an increase in Gonorrhea rates indicates that HIV rates would be expected to increase as well. This is especially true since there is a strong link between Gonorrhea infection and HIV. It has been found that having Gonorrhea can make one more susceptible to HIV infection. Having Gonorrhea can make it easier for HIV to get into the bloodstream. In addition, in men who have HIV and Gonorrhea, they are more infectious to others, as far as HIV is concerned. One study showed that approximately 25% of Gay men who had Gonorrhea, also had HIV. When one looks at all of this together, it strongly indicates that safer sex is on the decline among Gay men, and that HIV rates are expected to rise.
There are other studies that are also showing that Gay men are practicing safer sex less often. For example, a great concern among those working in AIDS prevention has been that, because of these new drug cocktails against HIV, Gay men will no longer fear becoming infected with HIV, and will go back to practicing unsafe sex. Until recently, that concern has been largely theoretical. Now, it has become reality. In a recent study in San Francisco among Gay men, researchers have found that some Gay men are no longer practicing safer sex as often. This was partly because some men no longer fear getting HIV, due to the new cocktails. In this study, 26% stated they were less concerned about getting infected with HIV, because of the new drug cocktails. 13% stated that they were willing to take a chance of getting infected when having sex. And 15% said they had already taken that chance. Some of these men specifically stated that they no longer feared infection with HIV, since they thought that they can take the cocktails to prevent becoming infected.
There are various other studies that have also indicated an increase in unsafe sex among Gay men. For more information on the increasing rate of Gonorrhea among Gay men, and the increase in unsafe sex among Gay men, let me refer you to the following report:
Gonorrhea Among Men Who Have Sex with Men -- Selected Sexually Transmitted Diseases Clinics, 1993-1996
Get Email Notifications When This Forum Updates or Subscribe With RSS
This forum is designed for educational purposes only, and experts are not rendering medical, mental health, legal or other professional advice or services. If you have or suspect you may have a medical, mental health, legal or other problem that requires advice, consult your own caregiver, attorney or other qualified professional.
Experts appearing on this page are independent and are solely responsible for editing and fact-checking their material. Neither TheBody.com nor any advertiser is the publisher or speaker of posted visitors' questions or the experts' material.
Review our complete terms of use and copyright notice.


text:
HARROGATE, Tenn. – Fresh off a sweep at the hands of UVa-Wise in Bristol on Tuesday afternoon, the King University softball team fell to Lincoln Memorial University in a pair of nonconference games by scores of 3-2 and 8-0.
The Tornado (2-7) built a 2-0 lead in the early innings of the first game before the Lady Railsplitters (10-2) were able to mount a comeback. King grabbed the lead in the first frame, using a two-out double to deep center from Fallon Thomas and an RBI single to right field by Hannah Smith to take the advantage.
King would double its lead two innings later, as Thomas, Smith, and Amber Walker hit consecutive one-out singles to load the bases before Tori McComas hit a sharp grounder to the shortstop. The ball was fired home, but not before Thomas crossed the plate, giving King a 2-0 lead.
Lincoln Memorial was stymied by King's Hannah Light in the early going, with Light facing the minimum through three no-hit innings. A one-out bunt single in front of the plate in the fourth inning gave the Lady Railsplitters their first hit of the game and sparked a rally. A walk and a fielder's choice put runners on the corners with one out for Payton Bruce, who laced an RBI triple to right field to tie the game.
Neither team was able to mount a serious threat until the bottom of the sixth inning. After a leadoff walk, Amanda Snow singled through the right side and advanced to second on the throw as King tried to punch out Brianna Mulkey while attempting to take an extra base. But both runners were safe, and Payton Bruce's RBI sacrifice fly to right field gave the Lady Railsplitters the lead and the final 3-2 advantage.
Hannah Light pitched well in defeat for the Tornado, giving up three runs, all earned on four hits in six innings of work. Toole earned the win for Lincoln Memorial, pitching three innings of no-hit relief.
Thomas was impressive at the plate for the Tornado, finishing 2-for-2 with a pair of walks. She also accounted for both of King's runs. Smith was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. McComas, Chrissy Melcher, and Amber Walker had King's other hits in the game as the Tornado outhit Lincoln Memorial 7-4 in the contest.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Lady Railsplitters bats came alive early and often in Lincoln Memorial's 8-0 victory in five innings. The Lady Railsplitters scored two runs in the first inning and another pair in the third inning off King's Morgan Lowe, who gave up five earned runs in four innings of work. Light gave up another three runs in relief.
The Tornado mustered just two hits in the contest. Melcher led off the game with a solid single up the middle but was erased on a double play moments later to end the inning. An Allie Spell double to left-center with two outs in the second inning represented King's only other hit of the game.
King nearly got on the board in the third inning after two walks to open the frame. Both baserunners advanced into scoring position after the relay throw from Lincoln Memorial was errant on a flyout to right field. Cassie Ringstaff attempted to score and cut into LMU's 2-0 lead on a wild pitch but was gunned down as she crossed the plate, and a groundout moments later ended the Tornado threat. King would not have a runner advance past first base for the remainder of the afternoon.
King will return to action on Friday at the Pioneer Classic, hosted by Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tenn. The Tornado will play five games during the three-day event, beginning with matchups against No. 23 Kutztown University and East Stroudsburg University at 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Friday.


text:
Unraveling Ovarian Cancer
Cancer experts join forces—and travel to Africa—in a new study of one of the world's most deadly cancers
By comparing the genetic makeup of ovarian tumors from two very different groups of women, researchers hope to discover what irregularities in DNA are shared because that could point to the cause of this deadly disease.
Ovarian cancer is among the deadliest of cancers, with less than 45 percent of women surviving five years after their diagnosis. It is more common in westernized countries than in developing countries, due in part to differences in childbearing patterns. But while studying data, Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) researcher Jennifer A. Doherty MS, PhD noticed a surprising statistic: women in Uganda (east Africa) and the United States have almost identical rates of ovarian cancer and mortality, despite completely different fertility rates—on average, women in Uganda have over six pregnancies while women in the U.S. have less than two. Why would ovarian cancer occurrence and mortality rates be so similar in women with such different genetic backgrounds and lifestyles?
"In the past few decades there has been little improvement in survival rates for ovarian cancer, which usually is detected at an advanced stage with little chance for cure. The ovarian cancer research community is working hard to find ways to improve therapies, but the difficulty lies in the complexity of the ovarian tumors themselves" said Doherty, assistant professor of Community & Family Medicine in Epidemiology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. "If we compared tumor characteristics in women with very diverse genetic backgrounds and lifestyle exposures, could the features shared by both groups represent the most important genes and pathways driving ovarian tumors? If so, that would dramatically reduce the complexity of the problem."
Unfortunately, existing studies of ovarian cancer to date include very few women who are not of European ancestry, so this would not be easy for Doherty to test. Building on an existing collaboration between the Uganda Cancer Research Institute and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, she was inspired to take on this challenge. She recognized that she would need a multidisciplinary team—one that could approach the problem in new ways.
Experts in many areas of cancer research work together to study ovarian cancer
Doherty partnered with colleagues at NCCC: Casey S. Greene, PhD (genetics and bioinformatics); Laura Tafe, MD, (pathology); and Evelyn Fleming, MD (gynecologic oncologist), who each lead different aspects of their combined research. They traveled together to Uganda last fall to meet with their counterparts at the Uganda Cancer Institute and to immerse themselves in shaping their research.
New approach to studying ovarian cancer draws on cutting edge knowledge
"One of best things about our trip was that, in the absence of cell phones and Internet access, we were able to spend a lot of time talking with one another and learning about how our different skill sets can interact in ways that we had never imagined," said Tafe. "In fact, the discussions we had in Uganda sparked ideas for expanding our research that we are actively pursuing."
Like breast cancer, ovarian cancer is not one disease but a range of diverse tumor types. Of the five types of ovarian cancer, one of them—high grade serous—is responsible for 75 percent of ovarian cancer occurrence and 90 percent of ovarian cancer mortality. Recently, the discovery that this group itself has molecular subtypes has been met with considerable excitement, but much more research is needed to decipher what the key features are that characterize the subtypes. The hope is that treatments that target these subtypes can be developed, and may be more effective than broader therapies.
"There are so many changes in ovarian cancer, it is hard to know which ones are causing the tumor to be more aggressive, and which ones are just tagging along," said Doherty. "Little is known about tumors of Ugandan women, and we wondered: do their tumors fall into these known subtypes?"
Multidisciplinary teamwork to assemble data on Ugandan women with ovarian cancer
Working with researchers and physicians at the Ugandan Cancer Institute, Doherty's team is enrolling patients with ovarian cancer, who share details about their reproductive and medical histories, and provide blood and tumor samples for the study. Their samples are frozen and sent to NCCC, where Greene and other researchers will classify the tumors into subtypes by conducting RNA sequencing.
The final step will be to use newly developed bioinformatics methods from Greene's lab to compare the Ugandan data with that collected on Caucasian women to identify shared molecular features. Doherty and her team think these shared features could identify key genetic drivers and pathways for ovarian cancer, information that will help researchers zero in on areas to target for new treatments.
A novel approach to looking at data
"This is a new way to think about these types of problems. When looking for trends, we usually try to start by putting together the most similar data," said Greene. "Here we started by looking at two very different population groups to pull out common themes."
Doherty thinks that this multi-disciplinary team of cancer researchers using cutting edge technology in unconventional ways may help to unravel the complexity of ovarian cancer. It's an approach that could, in addition to identifying targets for treatment, advance future efforts at prevention, help to tailor clinical trials, and be applied to a wide range of other disease types.
Partners in this study, "Searching for Common Drivers of Molecular Subtypes of Ovarian Cancer across Diverse Populations," are: Jennifer Anne Doherty, MS PhD; Casey S. Greene, PhD; Laura Tafe, MD; Evelyn Fleming, MD; Jason Moore, PhD; Scott Williams, PhD; Christopher Amos, PhD; Jackson Orem, MD; and Corey Casper, MD, MPH. The research has been funded in part by grants from the Prouty Pilot program, Hitchcock Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and the Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Sciences.


text:
Graduation Mass and Ceremony: Wednesday 15 November
Venue: St Rita's College
Arrival Time: Students are to enter the College via the main driveway
from 8.37am and assemble in the Eirene car park by 9am.
Attire: Students are to wear their College uniform, including hat and
Program: The day will commence with a Mass in Eirene at 9.30am that
will be followed by the Graduation ceremony. The celebration will
conclude at approximately 12.00 noon.
Please note: Due to limited space in Eirene, the number of guests per
student to the Mass and Ceremony is limited to 2-3 people.
Information about the Graduation Dinner on Wednesday 15 November will
be forwarded to families separately.
If you have any questions about these arrangements please contact me
at the College on 3862 1615.
Yours sincerely,
_Richard Rogusz_
Assistant Principal – Mission
Please click here
[http://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?assoc=3208] for Round 7


text:
A roadmap for sustainable consumption
Sustainable consumption will require many companies innovating and collaborating across value chains and engaging consumers in a redefinition of value.
A consortium of CEOs contributed their time and insight to the 2010 World Economic Forum's Driving Sustainable Consumption initiative held in Davos, Switzerland. They represent not only the consumer industries community, but also transportation, financial services, media and entertainment, mobility, IT, and chemicals. Having made their business case for sustainable consumption in the initiative's early phase, the project board's mandate is to now lay out a practical framework for migration to truly sustainable models of business and consumption.
Sustainability on a broad scale isn't about scoring points or about star players. It's a rewrite of the rules. While there are strategically rewarding moves that individual companies can and often should make with regard to sustainability, sustainable consumption will not be achieved by the work of a single company. Rather, it will require many companies innovating and collaborating across value chains and engaging consumers in a redefinition of value.
Sustainability at this level is no longer simply about increasing efficiencies or complying with regulations—it is about making fundamental changes in the way business is done and the way the world consumes. This will involve rethinking business models and supply chains across industries and how value will be redefined over the coming years.
There are benefits for individual companies. Business leaders have an opportunity to create new business models that internalize social and environmental capital and that focus on innovation—all of which can better position their companies for a low-carbon economy based on smarter consumption and changed perceptions of what value really means.
The problem with incremental change
The economic downturn is still making headlines, but the global consumption trajectory remains largely unchanged. There will be two billion new middle-class consumers in the next 20 years;1 water systems are already stressed, and there is increased cost and volatility associated with natural resource supplies and prices, with businesses becoming more vulnerable to these shocks.
While 35 countries worldwide have developed or are in the process of developing their national sustainable consumption and production programs, questions remain as to what effective implementation looks like; none of these countries has seen a decrease in its resource use or environmental degradation associated with consumption.
Without question, moves toward sustainability are accelerating. In both developed and developing markets, environmental concerns among consumers are rising2 and, despite the recession, sustainability remains high on the business agenda. Governments, meanwhile, are increasingly inclined to address the issue, and some legislation has directed public investments toward projects to measure or enhance sustainability.
These current trends toward sustainability may improve sustainability at the margins, but they are still rooted in a model of consumption that is itself often viewed as unsustainable. A Deloitte* study found that consumer behavior is still principally dictated by price, quality and convenience, rather than by origin of products and sustainability content.3 Sustainable consumption in developed economies remains niche. Many of the actions undertaken by businesses have positive, clear bottom line implications in the near to mid-term—reducing energy use and its cost, reducing water use and its cost, and reducing the use of carbon. But while these actions have benefits to individual businesses, the greater prize—sustainability along and across value chains—remains elusive.
Figure 1. Simplified schematics of linear and closed loop value chain models
Within the existing paradigm, incentives for business investment are insufficient, and collaboration across value chains is generally lacking. Moreover, public policy frameworks are not adequately coordinated at the global level. While sustainability is increasingly being linked to existing public policy frameworks on climate change and biodiversity, there is no specific global regulation of sustainability. Nor is there global policy consensus on the framework and approach needed, and anti-collusion legislation discourages some of the collaboration that will be essential to industrywide change. So far, while all regions have identified priories and programs, progress has been varied. While 35 countries worldwide have developed or are in the process of developing their national sustainable consumption and production programs, questions remain as to what effective implementation looks like; none of these countries has seen a decrease in its resource use or environmental degradation associated with consumption.4
Every company is at a different stage in addressing sustainability – some are beginning to integrate the principles of sustainability into their strategy, others are piloting new business models, and some have hardly started. Wherever your organization is in its journey, you will find ideas here to consider as you move forward.
This patchwork progress is unlikely to enable sustainability on a broad front. What is required to attain that goal is not incremental adjustment, but real transformation. Changes in lifestyles and consumption habits will be required of consumers generally, not just an expansion of the number of "green" consumers. Businesses will need to define new business models focused on value creation rather than material throughput; they will need to work toward closed loop systems, whereby all material not safely consumed in the use of a product is designed to be a valuable input into the same or other processes. The process would be greatly facilitated if, at the same time, governments were to institute enabling policies and regulations that price resources at their true cost and measure sustainable prosperity at its true worth for future generations. The old paradigm for the global economy—focused on throughput of resources, consumption of products, limited measures of prosperity and under-pricing of externalities—will most likely need to be discarded; a "new normal" defined; and a path set out to achieve it.
What the journey looks like
Getting to the summit of sustainable consumption will not happen all at once. The following four steps on the road to sustainability highlight the obstacles that must be overcome and the opportunities available for businesses, leaders and citizens to progress from the incremental to the transformational. Usefully, they also suggest that this is a journey that can be structured and tackled in manageable steps—providing a framework for businesses to shape their own transformation agenda.
Viewed separately, some parts of the process may seem familiar, or simply good business sense, and the process overall may look like traditional change management. In part that's true. However, this approach embraces many different processes and stakeholder groups to embed sustainability in core business strategy. It recognizes that every company is at a different stage in addressing sustainability—some are beginning to integrate the principles of sustainability into their strategy, others are piloting new business models, and some have hardly started. Wherever your organization is in its journey, you will find ideas here to consider as you move forward.
Figure 2. Roadmap for sustainable consumption
- The first step is to firm up the foundation, as the current innovative business practices of today become standard business practice and sustainable practices are integrated into the business. This is "relative sustainability", where steps being made are important but still incremental to the status quo.
- The second step is rebuilding business, in which sustainability is integrated throughout the business and new business models are piloted and demonstrated as being viable.
- The third step, new value chains, is the beginning of a major shift to new business models, in which sustainability is integrated across value chains and entire business ecosystems are moving towards zero net waste.
- The final step leads to balanced systems, in which innovation drives sustainable value chains and value is redefined for all stakeholders. This results in a self-sustaining system with closed loops, zero carbon and zero waste both along and across value chains, in which a sustainable society and sustainable lifestyles are realized.
The World Economic Forum's Driving Sustainable Consumption program is helping businesses shape their programs to embed this journey in their business strategy, innovation focus and investment plans.
Insight to action
Sustainable consumption will be achieved only through the efforts of many companies working with their suppliers, collaborating across value chains, and engaging with their customers. To help make the preceding four steps more tangible, CEOs at the 2010 annual meeting in Davos identified several areas of potential collaboration to address questions such as:
- What are the most important enabling actions that private sector collaboration should start on now?
- What existing initiatives, platforms or processes can be used?
- Who else might be needed to catalyze international and cross-industry action?
- What roles do we need national and international governmental bodies to play in enabling change?
They identified three areas for early focus:
- Consumer engagement: How can business generate a consumer movement for sustainable consumption?
- Life cycle metrics: Assess existing metrics and tools for measurement of sustainable consumption.
- Exchanging innovation: Open innovation and its benefits.
These areas imply the need for closer collaboration between organizations including global brand companies, retailers, media and communications companies, NGOs, and academic institutions. They believe each area presents immediate and significant opportunities for collaboration across the value chain, and they have included deliverables designed to help the industries involved get to the next stage.5
At the foundation level
Consumer engagement: How can business generate a consumer movement for sustainable consumption?
Drawing on the conference discussion, we would further suggest that through meaningful engagement, economic incentive and co-creation, companies can positively engage consumers with the benefits of sustainable consumption. Not only can industry help guide such behaviors, but by being part of the process of change, a company is more likely to make itself and its brands relevant and resonant with consumers and thereby positively differentiate itself in the marketplace. While sustainability is often regarded as a "nice-to-have" function separate from core business processes—much as online business once was peripheral—in the future sustainability may be even more transformational.
Often consumer instinct is to not trust businesses when it comes to "walking the talk" on sustainability. Where, then, are the opportunities to engage consumers? One answer is right in front of executives: their employees.Because employees and their families are consumers themselves ... they are, after all, a stepping stone to the rest of the consumer universe.
Positioning sustainability as a core business strategy and key platform for consumer engagement requires both breaking functional silos and establishing a dialogue with external stakeholders. Developing a community of chief marketing officers, business leaders, sustainability leaders and communication experts as a next step can help bridge these divisions and begin to clarify how to most effectively communicate with consumers.
Often consumer instinct is to not trust businesses when it comes to "walking the talk" on sustainability. Where, then, are the opportunities to engage consumers? One answer is right in front of executives: their employees. Because employees and their families are consumers themselves, engaging them on sustainability may help drive change within business and also have a direct impact on society. They are, after all, a stepping stone to the rest of the consumer universe.
Building trust also means giving consumers the tools they need to understand sustainable behavior—and providing them from a neutral platform. Many consumers wish to behave more responsibly but are unsure how to do so. They are often overwhelmed by data, and there is a need to simplify information and inspire consumers through a design-focused view.6 To address that, a group of the CEOs has proposed to develop a portal to provide more information on carbon, water and waste to help consumers make educated choices about products and services. The goal of the project is to inform consumers about carbon content, water use and other sustainability issues in ways that encourage behavior change by engaging, inspiring and mobilizing consumers. The product is expected to:
- Be a portal, not a label, accessed via smart phones and the web.
- Be open-source and not constrained to particular data providers.
- Show the "green price" or true cost of a product including environmental externalities.
- Enable consumers to achieve cost savings, better value and reduced footprint.
- Focus on developed markets with advanced IT infrastructure and high environmental footprint.
At the rebuilding business level
Life cycle metrics: Assess existing metrics and tools for measurement of sustainable consumption
Having a clear, consistent method or set of methods to measure sustainable consumption is critical to establishing a common way of understanding both forward-looking activities and "rear-view mirror" accounting. However, while many groups—both governmental and non-governmental—have developed tools and metrics for measurement, no uniform approach currently exists to carbon labeling of products or reporting, let alone a way of measuring the environmental life cycle impact along the entire value chain. Such a measurement would allow the relative sustainability of different products and services to be meaningfully compared, potentially guiding consumer behavior, fostering collaborative business innovation, and providing a basis for appropriate government regulation.
The CEO stakeholders for this work stream agreed that practical actions should focus on:
- Convening stakeholders: This involves bringing together important stakeholders such as retailers, manufacturers, curators of common interests and policymakers; all have different motivations regarding life cycle assessment, but all share an interest in simplified information. Convening to create efficiencies in the use of information would enable a shift to life cycle thinking for entire business models rather than just life cycle measurement of products.
- Clarifying and simplifying available data: This involves defining a common vision for the information available and identifying common hotspots. Some 30 to 50 standards would be inventoried and assessed as to how they would be applied for specific businesses and "business ecosystems" along the value chain. It would include simplifying information sets for more applicability and practicality, but without losing impact of the full life cycle assessment.
- Sharing examples of the benefits of life cycle thinking: This involves examining how companies are successfully using life cycle assessments for multiple, positive purposes in a cost-effective manner and drawing conclusions about how convergence, simplification and engagement with key stakeholders, both businesses and consumers, can add value. With regard to innovation, this means focusing on the importance of the choices at the beginning of the innovation process, both within a company and up the supply chain.
At the new value chains level
Exchanging innovation: Open innovation and its benefits
The concept of open innovation can accelerate the shift to sustainability and create efficiencies at multiple levels to help companies work together toward the same goal and share experiences, tools and methodologies. A working example of this already exists as the GreenXchange, a consortium of companies, including Nike and Best Buy, that enables companies to share intellectual property for green product design.7
Businesses can be blocked from collaborating in strategic areas for a number of reasons, including lack of collaboration experience, protection of intellectual property, or regulation. The main impediment to open innovation, however, is trust. Organizations must be convinced that the opportunity far outweighs the risk, which presents challenges both inside and outside the organization.
Inside companies, this boils down to incentives; companies and employees dealing with intellectual property and innovation processes must value sharing (for both giver and receiver). However, company cultures have by and large rewarded private innovation and the legal protection of it. Externally, there can be a geographical dimension that is encountered in emerging markets, in particular where trust is generally very low. In these instances, sharing is perceived as a threat to competitive advantage. Often, such cultural hurdles are reproduced inside large multinationals.
The CEOs proposed the following for overcoming such cultural barriers:
- Involve the right people: Bring in high-level representatives in the company to address the issue, particularly those who deal with innovation—whether they have "innovation" in their job title or deal with it more implicitly, as do many who have business development roles. These are the people who can pinpoint who is typically reluctant to share, and why, and make recommendations.
- Develop case studies: This is a powerful tool to show how cultures can change. By looking at and learning from the current success of others, companies will understand what's relevant to them and then look to replicate the process. These studies should address such practical questions as how projects get stuck and explore what has worked in the past and, more importantly, what is working in the present to reveal where and how businesses have set up successful models and provided inspiration for the development of future strategies.
Envisioning the "new normal"
The CEOs defined the new normal for the global economy as one in which consumption no longer has destructive environmental and social impacts and is driven by a combination of innovation, evolving consumer values, and more accurate real product costs. In the end, they define it as a world defined not so much by scarcity and sacrifice, but by innovation and a new balance.
This would be an economy in which:
- Consumers are the driving force: Through more meaningful engagement and co-creation, consumers reap the benefits of sustainable consumption for themselves, their families and their communities. They act upon meaningful information about products in the marketplace—information that has been improved with better metrics and more standardized communication platforms. Consumers view a product as a means to a solution or enhanced experience rather than seeing a product as an end in itself.
- Consumption is about loops, not lines: Through better design and life-cycle thinking, consumption and production become closed loops, producing no outputs as waste throughout their life cycle. As such, the concept of waste disappears, as all by-products retain an intrinsic value to feed into other systems. Even food spoilage and waste are minimized and turned into biofuels, compost or animal feed.
- Collaboration is a key: Companies view the areas in which they collaborate to be as important as the areas in which they compete. This collaboration happens both along and across the value chain through management, reduction and elimination of impacts that transcend the boundaries of direct control of any single company. Product waste and duplication is improved through interoperability of products.
- Core business practices are sustainable: Company competitiveness and profitability are inextricably linked with their achievement of sustainability objectives. The depth of this relationship goes to the core values ascribed to products and services, materialized through life cycle design and innovation. Relationships with suppliers and buyers are based on greater trust through which long-term contracts and relationships are emphasized, providing greater traceability of both products and their impacts.
- Public policy frameworks support sustainable consumption: Governments pursue policies to enhance the wellbeing of citizens and the environment as much as they do traditional economic growth. Natural resources, such as water or carbon, are priced according to their value within the structure of the economy and environment as a whole, while externalities that are currently unpriced or underpriced, such as landfill waste or toxins, are appropriately accounted for through market mechanisms.
Businesses can be blocked from collaborating in strategic areas for a number of reasons, including lack of collaboration experience, protection of intellectual property, or regulation. The main impediment to open innovation, however, is trust. Organizations must be convinced that the opportunity far outweighs the risk ...
Getting there - Step by step
The efforts of CEOs involved in the World Economic Forum's Driving Sustainable Consumption initiative demonstrate that the business community need not wait to make sustainability a key business imperative and a source of innovation and value creation. We believe the ideas presented here, though only steps, should be strongly considered by businesses in their efforts to more rapidly ascend the learning curve and lay the foundation for more transformational changes. All of this will require leadership and commitment from CEOs and engagement throughout their organizations. New forms of collaboration and alliances and partnerships will be required to bring new value to the consumer and can help create competitive advantages for the organizations that lead the charge.


text:
PhoneDog Media is involved in building a next generation social platform (iM5) with an opportunity for substantial global impact. We would love your feedback to help us develop an extraordinary experience. Stayed tuned for more exciting news and for an early opportunity to try iM5.
Poll: How would you use the next revolutionary social network?
- Tagged
- #survey


text:
Husband and wife duo collaborates on 'Big' exhibition in New Canaan
They say husbands and wives start to look alike after awhile.
But in the case of Drew and Audrey Klotz, it is their artwork -- Drew's colorful kinetic sculptures and Audrey's vibrant abstract paintings -- that have taken on complementary characteristics.
"After 15 years of marriage, it tends to happen that way," Audrey said during an interview last week with the couple, who lives and works in Weston.
Added Drew: "We work together in the same place and influence each other's artwork. We rub off on each other."
The fruits of the couple's collaboration are on display in a multimedia exhibition at the Carriage Barn Arts Center in New Canaaan.
On view through Dec. 15, "The Big Show" features approximately 70 works -- 30 by Drew and 40 by Audrey -- housed in a sprawling converted 19th-century stone barn nestled on a hillside in New Canaan's Waveny Park (several of Drew's pieces are also situated in an outdoor sculpture garden).
Visiting the exhibition during a high-spirited opening reception last week, the room felt more like a toy store than an art gallery: Patrons turned cranks, pushed buttons and pulled levers on Klotz's industrial wonders, causing the colorful mechanisms in each piece to spin and swirl and sometimes, change shape and hue.
"It's not about stepping back and looking at the sculpture on a pedestal and walking around it," said Klotz, whose pieces can also be found outside the Wilton Library and the Stepping Stones Museum for Children. "It's about interacting with and touching the elements of the piece and becoming a part of it."
Those elements -- brights colors, fluid lines, prolific circles -- flow over to Audrey's large-scale abstract paintings, which serve as a backdrop for and illuminate her husband's sculptures.
More InformationIf you go
The Carriage Barn Arts Center, Waveny Park, 681 South Ave., New Canaan. "The Big Show" is on view through Dec. 15. Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m. 203-972-1895, www.carriagebarn.org.
"It's a beautiful dichotomy," Audrey said. "They work so brilliantly together. We've mastered this relationship between our different styles. It looks unbelievable."
The genesis of "The Big Show" came earlier this year when the co-directors of the Carriage Barn Arts Center floated the idea of allowing select artists to organize site-specific exhibitions at the space, "Thereby realizing the vast potential of the structure," said Arianne Faber Kolb, one of the directors.
"We want artists to look and find out for themselves what the vision is for this place," she added. "We want to balance these dynamic, high art shows with our tradition of promoting local artists and community shows."
When Drew and Audrey Klotz first visited the Carriage Barn Arts Center, "We were worried about having enough works to fill the space," Drew said. But as the couple plugged away on the project, their vision grew to fit the size of the gallery. Eventually, they created enough pieces to justify dubbing the exhibition, "The Big Show."
"As we brought more and more artwork in, it became more and more of a reality," Drew added. "It wasn't so daunting."
The space was undoubtedly an inspiration to the couple. But Drew and Audrey Klotz also had the benefit of a burgeoning harmony between husband and wife. The joy, the playfulness and the humor that comes from that relationship extends to every corner of the Carriage Barn Arts Center.
"It's colorful, exciting and hands on," Drew said of the exhibition. "You'll get a smile from something."
Added Audrey: "The paintings are warm and inviting. The sculptures are fun and amusing. You can't help but be drawn into it."
email@example.com; Twitter: @scottgarg
The Carriage Barn Arts Center, Waveny Park, 681 South Ave., New Canaan. "The Big Show" is on view through Dec. 15. Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m. 203-972-1895, www.carriagebarn.org.


text:
McCoy is dying. And he's in love! And he's getting married to a woman who lives on a spaceship set to crash into a planet. Lots happening as we put "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" in the Mission Log.
Have something to say? Let us know. For your thoughts are important, and we would love to hear them:
On Facebook: facebook.com/missionlogpod
On Twitter: @missionlogpod
Skype: MissionLogPodOn
The phone: (323) 522-5641
Online: http://missionlogpodcast.com
We may use your comments on the show!
Support the show by clicking on the banner below and shopping at Amazon!


text:
Judging Soil Readiness
Soil is one of the most important elements of the garden, and judging your soil's readiness will be vital to your plants. Preparing garden soil while it's too wet from snow and heavy rain can compact the soil, making it difficult for roots to grow. If the garden soil is too cold, some plants, especially tomatoes, are at risk for requiring a longer germination period. This puts plants at risk for disease and slow growth.
But how can you tell if your garden soil is ready? Take a handful of soil and pack it together. If the ball of soil breaks apart easily when you drop it, it's ready for gardening. If it's too difficult to break or it plops when you drop it, the soil is still too wet.
When the garden soil is ready, it's time to start prepping for spring. Pull any weeds that grew over winter, add fertilizer and turn the soil. Be careful while working the soil. Seeds from weeds can be distributed while tilling, so don't overdo it.
If you had your garden soil tested in the fall, add any elements that were missing. Remember to think of your garden as a whole; don't add too much of any one thing. You can also add organic matter such as compost that can help soil structure, water storage, microorganism life and more.
When spring arrives, you can feel good, knowing your seeds and transplants are going into well-prepared garden soil.


text:
See the Cover of Nick From New Girl's Zombie Novel
Z Is for Zombie.
New Girl's Nick Miller might not be a va-genius, and he's not on an "adjusted schedule," but the man has written a book. On last night's episode, Nick finally finished — well, started and finished — his long-gestating zombie novel Z Is for Zombie, which contains multiple spellings of rhythm, a word search that has no words in it, and a black character named William who dies almost immediately. ("It's about zombies, and it's a relationship story," he told Jess's dad last week.) We took the liberty of putting together a cover for this magical tome, though we understand if you're holding out for the audiobook, read by Winston.


text:
You are bidding on (1) high quality Polished Rim Amethyst Druze specimen with a cut base from Uruguay. Each piece will stand on its own. Uruguay is know to produce the nicest Amethyst in the world. Pictured are random specimens that average (2) pounds and average 4-8" tall x 2"-5" wide x 2"- 4" deep each. (Some are a little larger and some are a little smaller). You will receive a random specimen from the photo or from the others that I have. All of these Amethyst are very nice with lots of dark purple Amethyst crystals which will please any collector. The coin in the pictures gives you a good size comparison of how large the specimens are.
Amethyst usually grows in geodes, which are hollow rocks with crystal-filled interiors. The surface of the interior is called Druze, which is a term used to describe a natural layer of crystals formed on the crust of a mineral, like, for example, the inside of an Amethyst geode. From the outside, Amethyst geodes often look like ordinary rocks, but inside they contain a wonderland of crystals.
Bid with confidence - 100% positive Feedback


text:
A fugitive captured by U.S. Marshals in Florida has been returned to authorities in East Tennessee and has been charged with murder, burglary and aggravated arson in the death of a man found shot to death in his burning home last March.
A fugitive captured by federal marshals in Gainesville has been returned to authorities in East Tennessee where he has been charged with murder, burglary and aggravated arson in the death of a man found shot to death in his burning home in March.
Hawkins County Sheriff's Office named 49-year-old Randy Edwin Harr, of Kingsport, Tenn., as one of three suspects in the murder of Christopher Varalli at his Surgoinsville home in March. Harr is being held without bail and no court date has been set yet, according to local news reports. Authorities say Varalli died from a gunshot wound and toxic levels of cyanide. His body was found inside his burning mobile home.
Harr was taken into custody on the night of Dec. 13 after officers learned he was living in a tent near Newnans Lake and eating raccoons and fish to survive.
"This person … for some unknown reason had picked Gainesville as the place where he was going to hide from the law and live off the land. Our community is a lot safer today because of some very good work by several investigators in Florida and Tennessee," Deputy U.S. Marshal Bryon Carroll said at the time of Harr's arrest. "No doubt local raccoons are also glad Harr is now behind bars receiving three meals a day."
Carroll said Harr was arrested by members of the U.S. Marshals' Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force after they received information from marshals in Tennessee that Harr might be in the Gainesville area living off the land to avoid capture.
While checking area campgrounds and parks, members of the team spotted a tent in a wooded area north of the 2600 block of Hawthorne Road and saw Harr and another man sitting next to a small campfire. Harr was confronted at gunpoint and arrested without incident.
A raccoon that had been cleaned and pinned to a tree was found at the campsite, Carroll said.


text:
CLIFTON, NEW JERSEY -- My husband and I went to Garden State Honda to purchase an Insight. We took the test drive and sat down to negotiate. That's when the trouble began. We were set on what we wanted to pay - no more no less. All they had to do was say yes or no. First they held on to my Amex card that I gave them as a good faith (their suggestion), so when we asked for it back so we could leave the salesman instead brought back a manager (and I use the terms salesman and manager loosely). After about 4 hours we came to an agreement and since the car we wanted was not there at the time we would just sign the contract and come back.
Now at first they gave us a blank contract saying it was late they would fill in later. I don't know if we looked that stupid to them but we did make them fill it in with the terms and with an attached paper stating that when we came back to do the finance papers our payment would not be more than what was agreed. After another hour all this was done and we left, 11 PM. Two days later the car was in and we went back and sat down with finance to fill out the forms. All of a sudden they couldn't give us the rate agreed upon and our payment was going to be higher because that offer was only good up till two days ago - when we signed the contract!!
So again we were ready to forget the whole thing and leave. The finance person told us he would go speak with the manager (what a surprise, that's all we heard from the salesman). When he came back he did say they would work it out so the payment was the same. Okay - we signed everything and left with the car. OW. I just received a letter from the old finance company from our trade-in that we owe them money. The payoff letter had a date that was good for a week after we signed and drove off with the new car, ample time for them to make the payoff.
When I called the bank that was supposed to be paid off they informed me the payoff was not received until TWO WEEKS after we drove off with the new car. Not only is the payoff short but there is a $10.00 late fee added because they waited two weeks. I guess that's how they worked out our payment being lowered, by leaving a balance on our payoff!
This is the worst experience we had. We have purchased many cars over the years and have never been treated so poorly. I am sure there are many Honda dealerships in your area that you could go to. Please take my advise, drive a few miles out of your way to go somewhere else. This place is just not worth the time, effort or money.
October 2010 I was looking to buy a 4-Cyl Honda Accord Ex-L coupe 2010. On 10/11/2010 I requested online price quote from local dealers where I work. ** called me that night and invited me to Garden State Honda to test drive a 2010 Accord Coupe. I told her test drive is not necessary but I will go to the dealer ship if they have the car I am looking for. I asked ** to double check to make sure they have a 4-Cyl. Black 2010 Honda Accord Coupe EX-L. She put me on Hold and came back in 30-40 seconds, She said " yes we have 4-cyl Honda Accord Coupe". Once again I asked her if it's a 2010 EX-L model in black and she said "Yes it is".
I told her the reason why I want 2010 model is because of the special finance rate of 1.9%. I asked ** to give me the asking price for the car she put me on hold and came back in 30-40 seconds. She told me their Internet price for the 2010 Honda Accord Coupe is 22,800, I asked if it's for a Ex-L model and she said yes. Since I have been wanting to buy this car for such a long time $$22000 price range at 1.9% sounded pretty good. I set up a 6 pm appointment for the following day. Following day 2 pm ** called my cell phone to confirm the appointment and I asked her if I could come in at 3 pm instead of 6 pm. She said "That's fine see you at 3".
When I arrived at dealership that day I was introduced to a sales Rep **. He had no Idea Why I was there so I had to start all over again. I told him I want 4-cyl Accord Coupe EX-L in black. After 20 minutes Later he tells me they don't have the car in stock. I told him "Double check with **." He leaves for 5 minutes when he came back he
said "We don't have 2010 model Would you like to test Drive a 2011 model?" That's when I realize that they never had 2010 model in stock. They lied to me to get me in the door so I can buy 2011 model for a higher price at higher interest rate.
I asked to speak to The GM, Sales Mgr came over with a nasty attitude and told me that there is no 2010 models in the dealership nor he can get one for me. He told me to look into 2011 models. I asked him "What happened to the car ** asked me come look at?" He replied "There was a mistake". I asked to speak with ** (The internet Sales MGR). This Sales MGR was rude and did not offer any kind of help. I asked to speak to his boss.... this time lead Desk Manager ** came over and gave me the same story.
In between all this I googled this dealership on my cell phone and find out that this dealership have reputation of lying to their customers about stock. This Dealership Intentionally lying and telling the customers they have the car customer looking for so they can get the customers in the Door.
CLIFTON, NEW JERSEY -- These guys are scums. They got an advance down payment from me and when I went in to buy the car the next day they said that I need to purchase an insurance program from them or otherwise I wouldn't get a loan. They made me pay $3000 for that insurance for 3 years and said that the unused part is refundable anytime. Now I have completed my car payments in a year and applied for a refund of the unused part, but they won't do it. They made me wait for 2 hours in the office and then asked me come again. The next time they made me wait another couple of hours all to just have a couple of forms filled out.
Now it has been more than 3 months since I applied for the refund and they still haven't refunded and they won't even return my phone calls. This is plain right stealing money. Wonder why Honda even allows them to have a dealership. Be careful when you deal with them. They are simply thieves. And their new claim about new management is total crap. It's still the same level of service as I heard from a friend who went there to inquire about the price for an Accord.
CLIFTON, NEW JERSEY -- Stay far away from this dealership, their business practices are Illegal and if it's happened to me it will happen to you. I'm an educated professional who for a living is the National Director of Customer Service where integrity and doing right by the customer has always been my practice. This started back in August of 06 when I purchased a brand new Honda Accord off of the showroom floor for my son as a college graduation gift. It has been a nightmare ever since and nobody is willing to take responsibility.
The summary of my situation is this: Purchased brand new car off showroom floor, it was customized with dual-colored leather seats, custom wheels and other accessories that don't normally come on a stock car. Trust me, I paid for all of the accessories in the price of the car. I then bought a ROADSIDE HAZARD WARRANTY in which I paid approx. $300.00. In April of 07, while driving one of the tires went flat. No big deal because I have the warranty right? WRONG, the warranty Garden State Honda sold me was a bogus blank piece of paper and when I tried filing my claim they told me they have no record of me purchasing the Warranty.
Even when I supplied the actual contract with my signature and GSH's, the party that holds the Warranty told me "tough luck" and to take it up with the dealership. At the same time while fighting to have the tire paid for under warranty, I take the car to a Honda dealership upstate (where it resided at the time) and that dealership tells me not only can't they do it under warranty but the actual TIRES AND RIMS have LONG since been discontinued. So this decked out brand new car off the show room floor with custom tires and rims was really DISCONTINUED tires and rims from their other shop in Passaic.
Since all of this began I replaced the one tire and rim myself in hopes that GSH or Honda Corporate would do the correct moral, ethical business practice and reimburse me. HOWEVER, they have not and since then 2 more tires have blown and the place I took it to then said to get those tires off of the car they're ALL a road hazard! I ended up footing the bill for 4 new rims and 4 new tires. Now the car has regular stock tires and rims since GSH or Corporate Honda refuses to acknowledge they owe me the money for the WARRANTY I PURCHASED!!!!
A lot has transpired over the past almost 2 years now and trust me I have better things to do with my time but I will not leave this alone because what they did is illegal and I will settle this in court. Corporate Honda is taking the stance that I need to take it up with the dealership because THEY DON'T OWN THEIR DEALERSHIPS, THEY'RE INDEPENDENTLY OWNED! Given the fact I am a National Director and have the same business model of dealerships my corporate company doesn't own, we do however make good with the customer and then deal with our dealer between ourselves.
In this case Honda Corporate acknowledged to me that this dealership has the LOWEST QOB scores out of all of their dealerships which makes me wonder why they kept them as a dealer representing the Honda name. My stance at this point is I bought a Honda and the last time I checked, I can't purchase directly from Corporate Honda so the only way for me to buy their product is through their dealership. Knowing about the business, we all know that dealerships must be certified and uphold certain standards to remain a Honda dealer.
So the moral of this story is Honda DISOWNS their dealerships when there is a problem but certainly doesn't worry about taking your money even when illegal activity has happened AND when the tires became a safety issue, nobody wanted to take responsibility. GSH itself has turned over to a new owner since this has happened and he had his lawyer write me a letter stating he just acquired the assets and NOT the liabilities... ahahhaha ever heard of such a thing?
In addition, one more thing you should know about... after looking at my bill of sale with a fine tooth comb, they were taking me to the cleaners on the NJ registration which if you look online it should cost approx. 50-60 bucks... Nooo they charged me almost $300.00!!!!!! One last thing which was illegal as well, when I traded in my 2000 Honda for this brand new one in August, I continued to get past due notices from Honda Finance telling me I was late in making my car payment on the 2000. Considering I turned it over to them in August and it was now December after looking at what happened is that they were 'floating' money.
They took possession of the 2000 Honda and never paid it off until 120 days later which KILLED my credit. Finally just recently within the past 2 months was I able to wipe that off my credit. So in summary, they took my trade-in car and didn't pay it off for 120 days which affected my credit, they sold me a brand new car with custom tires and rims that had been discontinued prior to me purchasing the car. I now have a car with stock tires and rims so the 5k I paid for the accessories and upgrades is out the window, they quadrupled the amount of money for registering the car and lastly the sold me a warranty in which I paid for that doesn't exist.
FRAUD and ILLEGAL activity. RUN FAST and PLEASE tell everyone that you know who thought Honda cared about their customers and reputation. It's simply not true!!!!! I will NEVER purchase a Honda again, and the funny thing is after escalating this up to the PRESIDENT of the CA division, repeated attempts informing him of what had happened and lastly stating they have lost a customer for life, he had no response!!!!!
CLIFTON, NEW JERSEY -- I am still waiting on a $1400 refund on a used car that I returned 12 hours after driving it off the lot. This car died in the middle of a busy intersection, almost injuring me and others. Aside from the fact when I returned it, all the managers and the salesperson had to tell me is "You should have bought a new car, this is what you get with a used car." Then I got the run around when I would get a refund. Now it has been almost six weeks and they still have not credited my credit card, after the manager confirmed they would be crediting my account.
This is fraud and unfair business practices. And I still cannot get a straight answer from them. I have never experienced customer service this horrible - well Verizon is a strong second - and I do not know how they stay in business. Please do not even step foot in this place.


text:
|Home | About Us | Contact Us | Links | Members
| Alnwick
Tourist Information, Bed & Breakfast, B&B, Self-catering cottages,
Campsite Accommodation, Best Places to Stay in Alnwick, on Alnwick's Stunning Coastline
and in Northumberland National Park the Heart of Northumberland
Welcome to Visit Alnwick
|Visitor Attractions in Alnwick & Northumberland, including Gardens, National Trust & English Heritage properties plus web site photo gallery.
|Activities & Events in Alnwick & Northumberland, including walks and scenic drives.
|Tourist Amenities, Eating Out, Books, Maps & Guides for your Holidays in Alnwick, Northumberland.
|Local Businesses, and Accommodation Properties for Sale in the Alnwick Region and links to Alnwick Estate Agents.
Web Site development: Bruce Hewison
This website contains many Trip Advisor rated properties which are highly rated by our visitors, we welcome the use of Trip Advisor Reviews but as always we recommend that you use your common sense.
We rely on the impartial advice of VisitBritain when it comes to the quality grading of our members properties.
Trip Advisor - if you have enjoyed your stay please do leave a positive review. Thank you.
|Information on this web site is provided in good faith, and where it relates to properties quality grading and awards etc it is assumed that the information provided by the individual business is accurate and honestly given. For more general tourism information assuming you can't find what you need on our web site please go to our Tourist Information.
|Home | About Us | Contact Us | Links | Members


text:
Simba Tenor Saxophone
- $ 449 87 449.87
- Shipping
- Free shipping for Plus
About this itemModel: TS-100
Comes complete with plush hard-shell case and reed!
Model: TS-100
Has a beautiful engraved carving on the bell and is perfect for beginners to intermediate players!
Assembled Country
Component Country
Member reviews & questions
Ask & Answer
Policies & plans
Shipping Information
Standard - 2 to 6 business days
Premium - 2 to 4 business days
Express - 1 to 2 business days
Warranty Information
Simba Products instruments are warranted to be free from defective materials and craftsmanship for 180 days from the date of purchase to the original purchaser when purchased from an authorized dealer subject to the limitations contained herein.
This warranty is non-transferable and is applicable solely to the original purchaser in the United States and Canada.
Simba Products, Inc. will repair or replace, at its option, any Simba Products instrument or part thereof which is found by Simba Products to be defective. Electronic controls are covered for a period of 90 days.
Simba Products, Inc. reserves the right to use materials readily available at the time of the repair.


text:
Announce your tournaments
Post all U12 tournaments into this category.
Please note that:
Good luck!
Dear Hockey Enthusiasts,
OneHockey is proud to announce the 5th Annual AAA Summer Tournaments!
Tournament Dates
June 25-29
1996 to 2000
July 1-6
1995 to 1991
+ Girls U12 & U14
6 countries participated in 2007 and over 12 are expected this year!
Request your European package now by contacting us at email@example.com or visiting our web site at www.onehockey.com
Enter your username and password here in order to log in on the website:
Forgot your password?


text:
Wagner Custom Skis Telluride,CO
Description: Description: Avid skiers who've tried various designs know how they ski, how they'd like to ski and what works and doesn't work for them. The dream gift for such a committed skier? A pair of skis designed just for him or her by Wagner Custom. Wagner Custom Skis are made from the world's finest components, one pair at a time, in an ultra-modern shop entirely powered by wind and sun. Wagner makes custom-designed skis for skiers who want to have more fun on the slopes and ski with better balance, comfort, and control. Wagner Custom partners with the skier to determine the skier's personal needs and goals and what kind of design and materials will deliver the perfect ride. Imagine designing length, sidecut radius, waist and shovel width, flare angles and flex profile all to suit the individual skier's own weight, strength, riding style and preferred range of snow conditions. Average production time from initial conference to delivery: 2 weeks. price for dream custom skis: $1695 a pair. Custom fit is guaranteed. You have 30 days to evaluate the skis. If you're not satisfied, Wagner will make it right. A personalized gift card will be provided by Wagner Custom upon purchase. This allows the skier to participate in designing the custom skis of his or her dreams. Check out www.wagnerskis.com for more information on the completely custom design process and the team that makes these heralded skis. Visit the website price: $1,695.00 to $2,000.00
Price: $1,695.00 to $2,000.00 Visit the Website
Full Tilt Seth Morrison- Men's Ski Boots
Description: New for 2010 at Don Thomas Sporthaus- Men's Ski Boots For the highest level of power transfer and shock absorption, Full Tilt built the Seth Morrison with a stiff - 10 flex tongue. Full Tilt also increased the shock absorption if the Active boot board to absorb the biggest airs. The Seth Morrison also features the J-Bar, which creates a powerful internal ankle hold for better support.
Price: $649.95 to $750.00 Visit the Website
Men's Skis- Salomon X-Wing Fury
Description: The X-Wing Fury is the flagship of the Salomon All Mountain line. It's packed with the best technologies, such as the PulsePad dampening system, for a smoother, easier to control ride and Double Monocoque construction for solid edge grip and more precise turning. All this adds up to a ski that performs well no matter what the conditions are like. 85mm of width is a perfect dimension for performing anywhere at any time on the mountain. The Fury is a perfect one-ski quiver.
Price: $629.95 to $825.00 Visit the Website
Bergans Of Norway Isogaisa Jacket
Description: A lightweight, premium technical jacket made of 3-layer New Generation Dermizax®NX, a supple waterproof, windproof and high moisture wicking permeable membrane. Also features 4-way stretch material allowing freedom of movement, extended back, fixed hood customized for helmets, asymmetrical front closing, Laser cut and welded details, and Recco® reflectors. • Front pockets, chest pocket, sleeve pocket, inner pocket and goggle pocket lined with mesh for extra ventilation • Underarm Zip vents • Detachable snowskirt that can be combined with the Bergans Sirdal II and Sirdal insulated ski pants to form a whole suit • Front pockets designed to not interfere with the hip belt when carrying a rucksack • Headphone eyelets and goggles wiper • Available in men's and women's models • Five different colors
Price: $599.00 Visit the Website
Description: While enjoying the great outdoors, there's one tool no adventurer should ever be without. Perfect for the grand explorer to the afternoon hiker, the Casio PAW5000-1 Pathfinder timepiece will be sure to keep the modern-day Ferdinand Magellan on track and on time. This innovative model utilizes the second hand like never before. Depending on the mode, the second hand acts as a compass needle indicating magnetic north, an altitude differential pointer or a barometric differential pointer. Featuring Multi-Band 6 Atomic Timekeeping with triple sensor, the PAW5000-1 model has a unique second hand which assists in compass readings. Equipped with Casio's traditional Pathfinder triple sensor technology, the PAW5000-1 includes a digital compass, altimeter, barometer and thermometer, making this the all-in-one tool necessary for high energy, rugged, outdoor adventures. With a resin band, the watch provides a lightweight feel offering durability and comfort on every trip.
Price: $450.00 Visit the Website
Casio Pathfinder PAG240
Description: Casio's Pathfinder line has become a trusted brand for those looking for a comfortable lightweight watch that can monitor nature's moods. Whether individuals enjoy hiking, camping, mountain biking or hunting, Casio's Pathfinder line has features that enhance one's outdoor experience. Pathfinder, known for offering dependable and reliable functions, continues to make outdoor adventures seamless and enjoyable. With digital technology sure to keep enthusiasts on track, Casio combines a digital compass with a sporty duplex LCD display, responsible for delivering greater visibility when taking readings. With just a tilt of one's wrist the Full Auto EL Backlight activates and operates by Casio's reliable solar powered technology, allowing readings to be accomplished with ease. The directional pointers seem to float on the digital display while the rotating bezel allows for aligning with a map. The Pathfinder also boasts a handy thermometer to advise one of rapid temperature changes, an altimeter to indicate proper elevation levels which measures between-2,300 feet and 32,800
Price: $250.00 Visit the Website
Heated Softshell Jacket
Description: The 579 Heated Softshell Jacket is made from plain-weave stretchable fabric which offers four-way stretch comfort, breathability and light wind protection. It also provides modest water repellent finish to resist moderate rain and wind. The construction makes it warm, light and ideal for all-purpose outerwear. Our +Venture Wintersports clothing features the latest in battery and heating technology to enable you to create your own personal micro-climate because nothing should come between you and your passion - not even Mother Nature.
Price: $229.00 Visit the Website
SG-43 Unisex Heated Gloves
Description: SG-43 Unisex Heated Gloves 7.4V Heated Clothing Answering the calls of cold fingers everywhere, our SG-40 Heated Gloves keep your fingers extra warm with trusted 3M Thinsulate insulation. Warming the entire length of your fingers, the heat is sent from the rechargeable lithium battery pack and can be easily adjusted on the go through a clear battery viewing window. Our +Venture Wintersports clothing features the latest in battery and heating technology to enable you to create your own personal micro-climate because nothing should come between you and your passion - not even Mother Nature.
Price: $189.00 Visit the Website
SF-80 Boot Warmer Insole
Description: The SF-80 Heated Insoles are the perfect solution for those that get cold toes or feet. They are designed to replace your existing insole and heat up the entire top half of your foot, keeping your precious little piggies warm and comfortable while out on the slopes, waiting on the ski lift, or working outside in the cold. Our insoles come with a battery boot clip for convenience. Our +Venture Wintersports clothing features the latest in battery and heating technology to enable you to create your own personal micro-climate because nothing should come between you and your passion - not even Mother Nature.
Price: $189.00
12V Heated GlovesSG-10 Heated Glove Liner
Description: SG-10 Heated Glove Liner 7.4V Heated Clothing Made out of a wind and water resistant poly/spandex these gloves are infused with heating elements that run the length of the fingers taking the chill off immediately. The thin profile of this glove liner makes it perfect to wear inside of your existing glove or mitten while working or playing outside on extremely cold days.
Price: $179.00 Visit the Website
REI Davos/AntiFreeze Down Jacket
Description: $159 Colors: Abalone, Mahogany, Black Sizes: S - XL Cold weather is no match for the REI Davos jacket (for women) and REIs AntiFreeze jacket (for men) featuring high-loft goose down, nature's most efficient insulator. • Downproof ripstop polyester shell surrounds lightweight, toasty warm, highly compressible 700-fill down • Ripstop polyester shell fabric contains 88% recycled content • Quilted construction keeps down from shifting and allows maximum loft • Less insulation under the arms and at sides facilitates breathability • Shaped elbows • Water-resistant finish fends off light moisture • Zip-off storm hood features side and back volume adjustments that tailor the fit • Exposed center front zipper features interior stormflap which folds over zipper at neck to protect chin from abrasion • Features two hand pockets with invisible zippers and one inside security pocket with a convenient headphone portal • Includes 6.5 x 13 inch stuff sack
Price: $159.00 Visit the Website
Unisex Heated Vest
Description: The 210 Unisex Heated Single-Zone Vest is heated clothing – simplified! It features an extra-long, single heating panel along the length of the back combined with a compact lithium battery and controller (with 4 settings!) in one! Our +Venture Wintersports clothing features the latest in battery and heating technology to enable you to create your own personal micro-climate because nothing should come between you and your passion - not even Mother Nature.
Price: $149.00 Visit the Website
Girls 2010 North Face Reversible Down MoonKitty Jacket
Description: The ID label has been attached to this Reversible Down MoonKitty quite sure where their jacket is when it is time to go. The child specific elastic cuffs help to keep out any unwanted snow from reaching the skin, allowing the time outdoors to be positive and dry. The highest quality of 550 goose-down fill is used, offering protection, performance and durability to meet the needs of active outdoor kids.
Price: $129.00 Visit the Website
Sportube Travel Cases
Description: Sportube makes extremely durable yet lightweight travel cases that can hold multiple skies, snowboards and other sports equipment. Available in black or "limited edition" platinum, the cases can be checked as baggage, or shipped via FedEx, UPS or USPS as a cheap substitute. With Sportube you can avoid your gear getting broken at the airport and having to lug too many bags around. The Sportube is available at retailers like Sports Chalet, REI and any decent ski shop or can be found at sportube.com.
Price: $120.00 to $180.00 Visit the Website
Sportube Ski/Snowboard Travel Cases
Description: Sportube offers superior protection when transporting adventure sports gear like skis and snowboards. The hard shell, made of blow molded high-density polyethylene, creates an extremely durable yet lightweight shield – providing years of protection for your favorite gear. The Sportube is a great investment piece if you're an avid skier/snowboarder. Think of it this way: a high-quality ski bag will cost you between $80-$240, and at some point you will have to buy a replacement. With Sportube, you can buy one case for $120-$180 and you are pretty much set for life.
Price: $120.00 to $180.00 Visit the Website
Boys 2010- 686 Manual Grid Insulated Jacket
Description: This coat features a nicely weighted polyfill insulation to keep your guy warm on the mountain, plus the snap front storm flap closure provides extra arsenal against the elements. The Grid features youth evolution1 ½ inch sleeve extensions, so the jacket grows with the child, a 3-in-1 single-pull hood drawcord adjustment, adjustable cuffs, handwarmer pockets, and more. Wear it on or off the mountain all season long.
Price: $110.00 Visit the Website
Motorola Talkabout MR350R Two-Way Radios
Description: The latest Motorola Talkabout MR350R Two-Way Radios combine functionality with style. With up to 35-mile range, NOAA weather channels, flashlight, hands-free operation and even a mini-USB charging port, they are must-have gadgets for winter skiing and outdoor adventures. Motorola MR350R two-way radios make affordable gifts for the outdoor enthusiasts on the holiday list. They are ideal for use when travelling and for outdoor sports activities like skiing, camping, hiking and even cruising as they operate when out of cell phone range. Best of all these now come in a variety of cool colors and designs with a free faceplate offer through December 31, 2010. Designs include Silver, Yellow, Blaze Orange, Pink, Green, digital camouflage silver, digital camouflage pink, Turkish Walnut Wood and American Pride. Families can pick their unique color or design and receive (2) faceplates for free in the mail. So, everyone has their own color radio for the next vacation...great way to know whose radio is whose as well as ensure everyone stays in touch and connected. MSRP: $79.99 per pair. They can be purchased at Best Buy, Home Depot and RadioShack. For holiday promotion info, visit: www.TalkaboutPromo.com. For product information: www.Motorola.com.
Price: $79.99 Visit the Website
Wool Evo Beanie With Dri-Release Lining From Chaos Thermal Regulation.
Description: From Chaos Thermal Regulation, this hat was designed to meet the needs of today's active lifestyle and exercise enthusiast. This warm yet sleek hat will keep you toasty on the slopes or while on a brisk run on a chilly day - the DriRelease lining combined with the wool outer layer provides the perfect amount of warmth without the weight or itch. This hat will never feel clammy against your skin; it's ideal for layering underneath another hat or on its own. Available in black, dark grey, turquoise, and olive.
Price: $27.99 Visit the Website


text:
Catalyst Canada presents a Catalyst Connects event in Montreal featuring Kim Thomassin, Managing Partner, Québec Region Partner, McCarthy Tetrault LLP and Nathalie Bernier, Managing Partner, KPMG Canada. The session will be facilitated by Alex Johnston, Executive Director, Catalyst Canada. This series, sponsored by RBC, brings high-potential women together with speakers considered to be role models. This event is for Catalyst member organizations only.
Contact [email protected] for more information.


text:
WINSON SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA -- I ordered and paid for 6 bras at $20.99 each for a total of $125.94 at www.juliasbrashop.com on 6/7/09 with my credit card through PayPal. The site says the merchandise will be delivered within 7-10 days. Three weeks and many phone calls & emails later, I received exactly half of my order (3 out of the 6 bras). Many times when I did get through to a real person (most of the time their message bank is FULL!), the same woman that answers every time is very nice and promises the moon.
They are very slick as the packing slip does not contain any company information, logos or telephone #'s. It did however indicate that 3 of the items ordered were not included in the shipment, but did not indicate if they were on backorder, or if (or when) the missing items would be sent. Many calls and e-mails later still with no response (their website says they will respond to all inquiries within 24 hours) to my request for a refund for the missing merchandise for $62.97. I contacted PayPal and they said they offer buyer protection for EBAY CUSTOMERS ONLY!! Hmm. Good to know. Am now pursuing claim with credit card company.
This company has many, many consumer complaints of also being ripped off on the internet as well as an F rating with their local BBB. As of 7/9/09 there have been over 20 complaints filed at the North Carolina BBB against this company in the last month alone: **. You can also file a complaint here if you have been ripped off. I have also filed a complaint with the NC Attorney General's office at: **. You can file a complaint here as well. I can't imagine why the attorney general's office continues to allow this fraudulent company to stay in business.
I wish I had done my homework and researched this company before making my purchase. BUYER BEWARE!!! I do about 90% of my shopping online (even groceries!) and this is by far the worst company I've ever done business with. Save yourself some grief and do NOT do business with these "people". You will be sorry if you do!
Well, I'm normally careful about shopping on the internet, but I was so happy about the wide selection of bras on juliasbrashop.com, that I didn't give caution much thought. I wish I'd have known about customer reviews of such sites online, but I didn't. After the whole odd Paypal experience, I got an iffy feeling and decided to check out the legitimacy of the site online. After reading others' reviews, I was a bit worried about the company, but hopeful for a good experience.
Julia's Bra Shop claims to ship orders within 7-10 business days of the order. 9 business days after I placed my order, they notified me that my order would be late. I would be neutral, since they initiated the contact and they did so before the items would be late. However, in their email to me, they didn't say how late my order would be. When I called the customer service number, somebody answered, and gave me a timeframe for when my order would be shipped. They stuck to their word. My order arrived only a week late. I would still be neutral here. (Impressed after some of the reviews I read). Unfortunately, when I opened the box, one of the bras I ordered was totally missing.
I have called customer service four times and they have not answered, but I get a message saying "mailbox is full." They have also not replied to my email, (but then again, their website states that they only respond to website if the email needs a reply.) So, I guess that means they only reply if they feel like it. Hopefully you looked for reviews online before ordering. Trust us. Don't put yourself through the hassle of dealing with this company. Yes, their prices are good and they have a wide selection of sizes, but that doesn't help when you don't receive your items anyway. Shop around for your size and spend a bit more. Good luck.
LANSING, MICHIGAN -- I agree with the complaints from others that this business does take awhile to respond and to refund. I would suggest NOT to buy around the holidays like I did. I also paid with PayPal. The time Julia's Bra Shop told me for a refund was a lot longer than they claimed. I had to involve Paypal and then a month later my credit card account was credited. If you're a super patient person and not in a big hurry for your bras then feel free to order, you will get them eventually. This company did NOT rip me off. Just too slow for me in shipping and refunding if wrong size. I would order from them again; just not during the holidays.
I placed an order with Julia's Bra Shop online. Over a month went by, and I had not received the item. So, I emailed them and got no answer, and I called them and got a answering machine, and asked them to call me back, they did not. I emailed them again.
They said the item was on backorder and they weren't getting it in and they would refund my money. I wrote them and said "Thank you for letting me wait a month to let me know." (If I wouldn't have been persistent - who knows if I ever would have heard from them). They wrote me back and said "YOU'RE WELCOME!" I took it as sarcasm. I think that is extremely poor customer service, and I would never recommend them, and I will never order from them ever again. I haven't got a refund yet.
WINSTON SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA -- Oh how I wish I had checked the reviews for this scam business. Ordered items and payment was made. Never received anything. Left email messages with the only response that they would try to respond within 1 day. Never happened and I ended up sending another 5 messages. Did the phone number too with the same result. Always got a recorded message indicating that I had reached customer service. No mention of the business name and needless to say no response again. Only avenue now is to contact the Attorney General's office but I am sure nothing will be done. The least that should be done is the site closed. What a scam artist!!!!!!!
I ordered from them on 1-8-10 and after about 3 weeks of waiting for my order I called and she told me it was back ordered. After another week of waiting I called again and she said it wasn't on back order and they would never get it in. So of course I asked for a refund and she said they would refund me. She said it might take up to 10 business days. I waited the 10 days and guess what.. No refund. I called back and she said she would "look into it." I asked her twice to call me back once it was taken care of and she told me both times "I'm too busy to call you back." Worst customer service ever!
Horrible, horrible company. The website looked nice enough, so I ordered a bra, and boy was that stupid. After a month went by with no contact and nothing in the mail, I called them, it went straight to the FULL mailbox so I wasn't even able to leave a message. Of the eight times I've called them during business hours as of yet, they have picked up the phone once, only to say that my order was not in stock and that they would notify me when it was. It has been over a month now with no contact and no bra. I have emailed them, with no response. I am definitely reporting them for fraud.
JULIA'S BRA SHOP. DO NOT ORDER FROM THESE PEOPLE, FRAUD ALERT!! FRAUD ALERT!! I ordered 3 items from this "merchant". After 5 weeks I received 2 of the items. They CONVENIENTLY did not ship the most expensive item. They placed a nice little note stating the third item would be shipped separately. Guess what? The item that cost over half of the entire billed amount never arrived. I emailed and called over and over with absolutely no response from these con artists. I tried to get help from PayPal (don't bother to waste your time with these people. They are lazy really couldn't care less).
I placed 2 complaints, they closed both after "Julia's Bra Shop" sent them a shipping number from the original shipment of just 2 items. See they send only part of your order then just keep your money from the other and nobody can stop them.
WINSTON SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA -- I had the same experience as the others - product had to be returned, no refund, no answer to emails, person on phone actually laughed when I said I didn't like being lied to! So I when I saw that so many others had the same experience and this was just a scam, I filed a complaint with the North Carolina Dept. of Justice Consumer Complaint Division and I suggest everyone else do so. This is nothing but thievery. Notice they are located on Robinhood Drive and, when you check it on Google maps, it seems to be a garage!
I placed an order with them on April 6. By April 26, no order received, and no response to phone message or to emails. Then I got an email saying the manufacturer delayed it, and it would get to me within the week. It did not arrive. More phone/email unanswered. In mid-May, reversed the charges with my bank, then left them a message telling them that I was doing so, and that I was reporting them for fraud. About 5 days later, the goods arrived. They were in satisfactory condition, but the more than 1 1/2 month delay and abysmal responsiveness of customer service was not worth it. I would not order from them again.